As you frown at the stubble-chinned businessman weaving through the highway traffic in his flashy car, you may find yourself uttering a few choice words behind the wheel.
At least as you simmer as he snakes to the front of the line, you can feel smug in the knowledge that you belong to an exclusive group of British drivers who can pronounce the name of their car make correctly, thanks to this article.
Research has shown that almost all motorists mispronounce the word BMW, while a similar number of motorists also mispronounce Hyundai, Lancia and Volkswagen.
Since there are about 80 major car manufacturers worldwide, it can be difficult to know all the correct pronunciations.
However, according to the survey of British motorists, the names of some of the biggest car companies such as Porsche, BMW, Skoda and Hyundai are regularly butchered.
Next, we’ve revealed exactly how to pronounce 10 of the major car brands and how many people get their pronunciation wrong.
Select Car leasing has revealed that, based on a survey of 1,000 UK respondents, 95% of people don’t know how to pronounce BMW correctly.
Select Car Leasing has revealed that 95% of Britons don’t know how to correctly pronounce BMW – known as Bayerische Motoren Werke
Pictured: A Porsche 959. Most people would immediately assume Porsche’s pronunciation would have an English version, but really it should be said as “Porsh-ah”
Because there is an accent in the S in Skoda, 89% of people could not pronounce it properly. It should actually be said as ‘Schkoda’
The company, Bayerische Motoren Werke, revealed that the correct way to pronounce the brand is ‘Bee-em-vee’.
The second manufacturer that the British find difficult to articulate properly is Hyundai, which should actually be pronounced ‘Hun-day’.
Only six percent managed to pronounce Hyundai successfully.
Meanwhile, the easiest car company for Brits to say is Renault, with 44% of Brits pronouncing it as ‘Reh-noh’.
Common mistakes include pronouncing the marks as it seems to be done in English.
For example, Skoda is pronounced ‘Schkoda’ as 89% of people couldn’t pronounce it properly.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen is perhaps the most difficult to pronounce of them all, with only nine per cent of Britons pronouncing it correctly.
What seems to put people off is the fact that the V should actually be pronounced like an “F” since the car brand’s full name is “Fokes-vah-gun”.
Here’s the full list of the 10 automakers that are mispronounced:
| Car manufacturing company | Correct pronunciation | % of people who do not know the correct pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| 1.Renault | Reh-noh | 44% |
| 2. Konigsegg | Koh-nig-say | 64% |
| 3.Dacia | Dah-chah | 70% |
| 4. Porsche | Porsh-ah | 76% |
| 5.Peugeot | Pe-zhoh | 86% |
| 6.Skoda | Shkoh-dah | 89% |
| 7.Volkswagen | Fokes-vah pistol | 91% |
| 8. Lancia | Lan-cha | 93% |
| 9.Hyundai | Their day | 94% |
| 10.BMW | Bee-em-vee | 95% |
Mark Tongue, director of Select Car Leasing, said of the research: ‘Despite all the exposure car manufacturers face in the digital age, there is still a gap in understanding when it comes to how they are pronounced.
Many of them have become household names around the world, but according to our research, that doesn’t make misstatements any less likely.
Thanks in part to Friends Joey Tribbiani, it’s perhaps not surprising that Porsche is on our list, but the same can’t be said for BMW – a massive 95 percent of people don’t know it’s actually pronounced bee-em-vee.
“We’ve found that even the car stars get caught, with Jeremy Clarkson and James May mispronouncing the likes of Koenigsegg and Dacia for years.
“Our research reveals the most confused car brands and, for the avoidance of doubt, the correct verdicts through professional, regional voice actors.”
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